Bellaire softball head coach Brien Tuffly during their game with Madison at Butler Sports Complex Tuesday 02/18/14.

Bellaire softball head coach Brien Tuffly during their game with Madison at Butler Sports Complex Tuesday 02/18/14.

Photo: Â Tony Bullard 2014, Freelance Photographer

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Sarah DeLaCruz (#1) rounds second base for Bellaire during their game with Madison at Butler Sports Complex Tuesday 02/18/14.

Sarah DeLaCruz (#1) rounds second base for Bellaire during their game with Madison at Butler Sports Complex Tuesday 02/18/14.

Photo: Â Tony Bullard 2014, Freelance Photographer

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Lamar baseball head coach David Munoz before their game with Westbury at Delmar Field Tuesday 02/25/14.

Lamar baseball head coach David Munoz before their game with Westbury at Delmar Field Tuesday 02/25/14.

Photo: Â Tony Bullard 2014, Freelance Photographer

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Strake Jesuit junior R.J. Ammons placed second in Class 5A boys with a time of 15:44.8 at the UIL Region III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 3, 2012 at Atascocita High School. Ammons and 5A Region III boys team champ Strake Jesuit will compete at the UIL State Meet on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 in Round Rock. less

Strake Jesuit junior R.J. Ammons placed second in Class 5A boys with a time of 15:44.8 at the UIL Region III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 3, 2012 at Atascocita High School. Ammons and 5A Region III boys ... more

Photo: L. Scott Hainline

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Strake Jesuit boys track head coach Chad Collier during the District 19-5A/20-5A track meet at Stratford High School 4/19/13. Photo by Tony Bullard.

Strake Jesuit boys track head coach Chad Collier during the District 19-5A/20-5A track meet at Stratford High School 4/19/13. Photo by Tony Bullard.

Bellaire (26-4) and Cinco Ranch (28-1) will meet in a best-of-three series at Stratford. Game 1 will take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 9. Game 2 is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, with Game 3, if required, to follow 30 minutes later.

"Cinco Ranch is No. 1 in the state and we're No. 5," said Bellaire head softball coach Brien Tuffly. "To advance in the playoffs, you have to beat the team in front of you and I'm not sure there is a team out there any better than Cinco Ranch."

However, Tuffly added that the Cardinals and Cougars are similar.

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Notes

Softball titans: Bellaire and Cinco Ranch will meet in a Class 5A-Region III quarterfinal series this week at Stratford. The Cougars are ranked No. 1 in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association, while the Cardinals are at No. 5.

Distance double: Strake Jesuit senior R.J. Ammons qualified for the UIL Class 5A State Track and Field Championships at the University of Texas in Austin for the second straight year. Ammons will be among the medal favorites' in the boys' 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.

State debut: Westbury senior Justin Lane also will compete at the UIL Class 5A state track meet. Lane, a newcomer to track, qualified in the boys' 400-meter run.

"Cinco Ranch has solid pitching, solid defense and they can hit the ball," Tuffly said. "They're a lot like we are."

Bellaire, the District 20-5A champion, earned a match-up with District 19-5A winner Cinco Ranch by beating Cy Falls 4-3 in the area round last week.

Senior third baseman Molly Oretsky got the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning.

After Cinco Ranch tied the game at 2 in the top of the fifth inning, senior shortstop Libby Brown drove in two more runs in the bottom frame for the 4-2 lead.

Senior pitcher Gabi Alatorre tossed a complete game to get the win. Alatorre scattered four hits, gave up only one walk and registered 10 strikeouts.

Lamar bows out

Lamar head baseball coach David Muñoz made no attempt to downplay his disappointment after his team was eliminated by Cinco Ranch in a Class 5A-Region III bi-district playoff series.

After a number of comebacks, Lamar was well-positioned to move into the next round. Lamar was ahead until Cinco Ranch's Trent Bowles launched a dramatic walk-off grand slam in the seventh inning, handing Lamar a 12-10 loss in Game 3.

"In my 16 years of coaching, this loss probably is the toughest one to swallow," Muñoz said.

Muñoz, though, couldn't have been prouder of Lamar, which finished with a 20-9 record.

His squad bounced back from a 4-1 loss on their home field in Game 1. Sophomore John Doxakis pitched a solid game, but Lamar couldn't muster much offense.

"Of the 84 pitches that John threw, 64 were for strikes," Muñoz said. "We just couldn't score enough runs."

For a while, it appeared that Lamar might get swept. In Game 2, Lamar trailed 4-1 in the sixth inning before scoring three runs and eked out a 4-3 victory to extend the series. Junior Matt Clemens picked up the win on the mound, but senior John Fallon got the save, getting his team out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.

"We got off to a slow start, but our pitchers responded," Muñoz said.

Lamar fell behind 3-0 in the first inning before tying the game. They were down 5-3 in the fifth inning before exploding for seven runs, including three on a double by junior outfielder Zach Pearson, to take a 10-5 lead.

In the end, Lamar couldn't keep pace with an explosive Cinco Ranch offense.

Senior second baseman Gabriel Solis was 4-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run double in the second inning.

Muñoz acknowledged gutsy pitching performances from Lamar's co-captains, senior Tucker Cascadden and Fallon, in relief in Game 3. Both players missed considerable time this season with injuries, but they gave their best effort during the playoffs.

"I wish we were still playing, but it wasn't meant to be," Muñoz said.

In other Class 5A-Region III bi-district playoff action, Westside was the lone winner from District 20-5A, sweeping a pair of games from Strake Jesuit by scores of 3-2 and 6-5. Bellaire dropped two straight to Katy Taylor, 8-0 and 14-4. Chavez also was shut out twice by Katy, 11-0 and 3-0.

Ammons qualified in the boys 1,600- and 3,200-meter races for the second year in a row. Ammons swept both events at the Class 5A-Region IIII meet in Humble.

Ammons learned plenty from last year's state meet. After grabbing a bronze medal in the 3,200, he faded to eighth place in the 1,600.

"The two-mile is in the morning and the mile is at night. It's hard to keep your focus the whole day," Ammons admitted. "I think I'm better-prepared this year. I know how to pace myself."

Ammons is among the favorites. His regional time of 9:14.31 in the 3,200 ranks second behind Chris Myers of Northside Holmes (9:13.42). Ammons is seeded third in the 1,600 with a 4:19.28, trailing Austen Dalquist of Keller (4:13.58) and Zack Kirkland of Justin Northwest (4:18.65).

"Obviously, I want to do better in the mile," Ammons said. "The plan is to be in the top three in both races."

Strake Jesuit head boys track and field coach Chad Collier believes it's only fitting for Ammons to conclude his career with the Crusaders with two more state medals.

"R.J. is class act. He's a model student-athlete and wants to be the best at everything," Ammons said. "I don't know if I've ever coached anybody as competitive as R.J."

Few expected Lane to get this far. He's competing in track and field for the first time.

"Justin has been involved in basketball, but we were finally able to convince him to come out for track," said Westbury head boys track and field coach Andrew Blanks. "He is so talented. I wish he had started earlier."

Lane is glad he listened to Blanks. As a result, he's making the trip to Austin this weekend.

"It's kind of hard to believe I'm going to state," Lane said. "I still have a lot to learn, but I'm really excited about track."

Suddenly, Lane finds himself with a range of possibilities, with the University of Houston and other colleges interested in him for track and field. A solid finish at state will only help his stock.

"Justin's run a couple of low 48s," Blanks said. "I know he can go even faster."

Lamar mixed doubles team falls

Lamar's mixed doubles team of junior John Milstead and senior Emily Chen lost in the quarterfinals of the UIL Class 5A State Tennis Tournament last week at the University of Texas in Austin.

Milstead and Chen fell to Dayton Hancock and Nicole Goodman of Allen 6-2, 7-5 in the first round.

Bellaire's Smith competes at state golf

Bellaire junior Samantha Smith shot rounds of 76 and 84 for a two-day total of 160 at the UIL Class 5A State Golf Tournament last week at Onion Creek Golf Club in Austin.

Smith made her third straight state appearance, including her second in a row as a medalist.